10:00 am Keynote Speech II: The Iran War: A Decisive Moment for Western Leadership

The outbreak of war between Iran and the United States and Israel in February 2026 marked a decisive turning point in Middle Eastern geopolitics. The targeted decapitation of Iran’s leadership, most notably the assassination of the Ayatollah through Israeli and US missile strikes, initiated a new and far more volatile phase of regional conflict. Iran’s subsequent retaliation across the Middle East, striking American, Israeli, and Arab targets alike, has transformed the confrontation into a full-scale regional crisis with potentially global ramifications. In his keynote address, Or Yissachar, Senior Fellow at the David Institute for Security Policy, will analyze the conflict’s core dynamics, examine what is fundamentally at stake, assess the strategic objectives of the United States, Israel, and Iran, and explore the possible trajectories of the war and its consequences for the West and the future international order.